Shot shell



F. A LAGE SHOT HELL March 21. 967

Filed March 29, 1965 5 E V 6 M M .WL M K W M 5 United States Patent Office 3,309,994 SHUT SHELL Frederick A. Lage, Gladbroolr, Iowa 50635 Filed Mar. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 443,480 4 Claims. (Cl. 102-42) This invention relates to shot shells and the method of loading them and in particular to shot shells used in shotguns and hand loaded.

It is an object of this invention to provide a shot shell having a universal one column wad which will permit the loading of shells having different quantities of shot or shell casings which vary in length.

Another object of this invention is to provide a universal shot shell having a wad which serves as a cushion and eliminates excessive breech pressure due to cushion start-off.

Another related object of this invention is to provide a shot shell having a shot protector sleeve and Wad which results in less shot deformation for better shot patterns and less recoil on the shooters shoulder.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a shot shell having a universal shot protector sleeve which has a gas sealer groove which serves to permit expansion of the sleeve sidewall to reduce friction and to provide a seal against the passage of gas from the powder chamber in the shell.

A still further related object of this invention is to provide a shot shell having a shot protector sleeve and universal Wad which may be preassembled prior to loading the shot shell and thereby minimize the steps and time required in the loading operation.

Another related object of this invention is to provide a shot protector sleeve which uses a universal wad formed from expanded plastics.

A further related object of this invention is to provide a shot protector sleeve having a universal wad formed from a plastic foam.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shot protector sleeve and wad which is very inexpensive to fabricate and easy to assemble in a shot shell.

A further object of this invention is to provide a shot shell and method of loading same which is simple in design, economical to manufacture and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are similar views illustrating in crosssection the construction of shot shells having different quantities of shot but employing the same shot protector sleeve and wad unit;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional View similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating in further detail the base end of the shot shell;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the shot shell;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of only the shot protector sleeve and wad unit taken along line 55 in FIG. 4 on a reduced scale; and

FIG. 6 is a right end view of the shot protector sleeve and wad unit of FIG. 5.

An embodiment of this invention as illustrated in the drawings is generally referred to in FIG. 1 by the reference numeral 10 and is shown in FIG. 4 to include four basic components, a shot shell casing 12, powder 14, a shell protector sleeve and wad unit 16, and the shot shell 18.

fifiiifii d Patented Mar. 21, 1967 The shell casing 12 includes a primer in a metal base cup 22. A support element 24 seats against the inner surface of the metal cup 22 and embraces the primer 20. An annular sealing element 26 is seated against the top surface of the support element 24 and the powder 14 is positioned against the inner surface of the primer 20, the support element 24 and the sealing element 26 as seen in FIG. 3.

The shot protector sleeve and wad unit 16 includes a sleeve 28 having a first cup chamber 30 for receiving the powder 14 and a second cup chamber 32 on the opposite side of a common bottom base wall 34 for supporting engagement with the inner end of a wad element 36. The powder cup portion 30 is defined by an annular side wall having an outwardly tapering inner surface 38 for concentration of the explosive force of the powder 14 against the bottom base wall 34 and accordingly through the shot shell 10 to the shot 18. An annular groove 40 is provided on the external surface of the protector sleeve 28 in the area of the bottom base wall 34 and serves to seal the casing 12 against the passage of the powder gases from the powder chamber 30. An annular shoulder 41 forms one side of the groove 40. The wad chamber 32 is defined by a cylindrical sleeve portion 42 having a sidewall which is uniformly tapered in thickness outwardly of the bottom base wall 34. The added thickness of the side wall of the sleeve portion 42 adjacent the base wall 34 gives the shot protector sleeve additional strength in the area where the greatest stresses are concentrated during firing. Around the exterior of sleeve portion 42, longitudinal ribs 44 and grooves 45 are formed to reduce friction in the gun barrel and thereby increase shot velocity while decreasing breech pressures. The side wall of portion 42 is provided with uniformly spaced apart longitudinal serrations 48 extending three quarters the full length of the portion 42 from the outer end thereof. The Wad 3 6 is shown to have a disk element 50 secured to its outer end by adhesive 52 to prevent the shot 18 from denting the filler wad material.

The filler wad 36 disposed in the chamber 32 of the sleeve 16 is formed from an expanded plastic material. The material illustrated is a foam of polystyrene. Polystyrene foam of this type consists of many tiny noninterconnected cells. These foams have low densities, and low thermal conductivity and good structural strength. Polystyrene foam of the type employed in this invention may be obtained from the Dow Chemical Company under the name Styrofoam. The mechanical properties for expanded polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) are as follows:

The foamed plastic used for the wad 36 having a low density may accordingly be readily compressed to whatever length desired depending on the amount of shot 18 used in the shot shell 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus the plastic foam material makes it possible to fabricate a wad 36 which is universal in its application.

Prior to loading the shot shell 10, the shell protector sleeve and wad units 16 are assembled and then inserted as a unit into the casing 1 2 of the shot shell 10. First then in the loading of the shot shell 10 the powder 14 is inserted into the casing 12 and the shot protector sleeve and wad unit 16 then inserted thereagainst with the powder 14 moving into the chamber 30 of the sleeve 28. Next the shot 18 is deposited into the chamber 32 onto the cardboard disk element 50. Next, force is applied to the shot 18 to compress it into the casing 12 such that the end of the casing 12 may he crimped inwardly as illustrated at 70. Again it is noted that the expanded wad material 36 is self-compensating and compresses however much is necessary to give the desired length for the amount of shot 18 used.

When the shot shell is fired, the powder 14 explodes and concentrates its forces against the inner side walls of the chamber and expands the sleeve 28 such that the annular groove 40 expands forcing the shoulder 41 outwardly against the inner surface of the shell casing 12 and thus presents a seal which prevents the escape of gases from the powder chamber 30. The shot protector sleeve 28 and the shot 18 remain substantially intact until a short distance from the end of the gun barrel thereby controlling the concentration of the shot 18 and thus its velocity and pattern. Moreover, it is apparent that there is no need for using different wads for difierent loading operations or on the other hand several wads as a single wad of expanded foam 36 cut from a piece of stock material, expanded foam plastic material, will be suitable for all loading situations. Also it is to be appreciated that by use of an all plastic wad unit 16, excepting the cardboard disc 50, the weight of the wad unit is substantially lower and consequently carries less recoil and gives greater shot velocity.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my shot shell and method of loading same without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a shot shell, a shot shell casing, a quantity of powder at one end of said shot shell casing, a shot sleeve adjacent said powder and said shot sleeve being closed at one end and open at the opposite end, said shot sleeve having an annular groove formed in the external surface thereof adjacent said closed one end, said shot sleeve including a shot wad adjacent said closed end; a quantity of shot disposed at least partially within the open end of said shot sleeve and being adjacent the other end of said shot shell casing; and said sleeve including a sidewall serrated longitudinal and uniformly decreasing in thickness.

2. In a shot shell, a shot shell casing, a quantity of powder at one end of said shot shell casing, a shot sleeve adjacent said powder and said shot sleeve being closed at one end and open at the opposite end, said shot sleeve having an annular groove formed in the external surface thereof adjacent said closed one end, said shot leeve ineluding a shot wad adjacent said closed end; a quantity of shot disposed at least partially within the open end of said shot sleeve and being adjacent the other end of said shot shell casing; and said sleeve including a sidewall serrated longitudinally and uniformly decreasing in thickness, an annular shoulder formed on the exterior of said sleeve sidewall and forming a portion of the sidewall of said annular groove, said annular shoulder being disposed on the side of said groove opposite said closed one end of said sleeve.

3. In a shot shell, a shot shell casing, a quantity of powder at one end of said shot shell casing, a shot sleeve adjacent said power and said shot sleeve being closed at one end and open at the opposite end, said shot sleeve having an annular groove formed in the external surface thereof adjacent said closed one end, said shot sleeve having longitudinally extending ribs and grooves fromed on the exterior thereof, said longitudinally extending ribs and grooves extending from adjacent said annular groove outwardly of said closed one end, said shot sleeve including a shot wad adjacent said closed end; a quantity of shot disposed at least partially within the open end of said shot sleeve and being adjacent the other end of said shot shell casing.

4. In a shot shell, a shot shell casing, a quantity of powder at one end of said shot shell casing, a shot sleeve adjacent said powder, said shot sleeve being closed at one end and open at the opposite end, said shot sleeve including a shot wad adjacent said closed end; said shot wad being formed of expanded plastic material and being completely enclosed in said sleeve, a quantity of shot disposed at least partially within the open end of said shot sleeve on said shot wad and being adjacent the other end of said shot shell casing, said shot sleeve being uniformly longitudinally serrated from its open end along a substantial length of said sleeve, said serrations in said shot sleeve providing sleeve sidewall portions, and said sleeve sidewall portions being uniformly flared outwardly towards the opened end of said sleeve.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,232,634 2/1941 Roberts et al. l0242 3,147,709 9/1964 Werner l0242 3,217,648 11/1965 Foote et al. l0242 3,221,658 12/1965 Devaux l0295 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,151,613 10/1957 France. 1, 1 8 6,659 8/ 1959 France. 535,429 11/ 1955 Italy.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT F. STAHL, Examiner.

S. W. ENGLE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A SHOT SHELL, A SHOT SHELL CASING, A QUANTITY OF POWDER AT ONE END OF SAID SHOT SHELL CASING, A SHOT SLEEVE ADJACENT SAID POWDER AND SAID SHOT SLEEVE BEING CLOSED AT ONE END AND OPEN AT THE OPPOSITE END, SAID SHOT SLEEVE HAVING AN ANNULAR GROOVE FORMED IN THE EXTERNAL SURFACE THEREOF ADJACENT SAID CLOSED ONE END, SAID SHOT SLEEVE INCLUDING A SHOT WAD ADJACENT SAID CLOSED END; A QUANTITY 